Supreme Court rejects writ to keep ineligible AG candidate off ballot

The name of a Libertarian attorney general candidate who is ineligible to hold the office will still appear on the ballot in November, after the Nevada Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition to remove him filed by the Republican nominee.

The GOP candidate, Sigal Chattah, had filed a lawsuit to strike Libertarian John Kennedy’s name from the ballot, after she challenged his eligibility and he requested to withdraw from the race because he’s not a member of the State Bar of Nevada. Under a law passed in 2021, all candidates for attorney general must be lawyers in good standing in Nevada.

Chattah pushed for his name to be removed from the ballot, arguing it will cause her irreparable harm as voters could cast ballots for Kennedy instead of for her.

Carson City District Court Judge James E. Wilson Jr. struck down Chattah’s lawsuit last week because it was filed four days after the deadline to change November’s ballot and 105 days after the deadline to file pre-election candidate challenges.

Chattah appealed his ruling, asking the Supreme Court to order Wilson to issue an injunction preventing Kennedy from appearing on the ballot. But the Supreme Court unanimously denied the appeal, saying Chattah can appeal Wilson’s ruling and asked for an expedited schedule.

Chattah has filed that appeal, and the Supreme Court could still overturn Wilson’s decision, she said. But the ruling likely won’t come before voting starts for the November election.

In any case, election officers must post a sign at each polling place to inform voters that Kennedy is ineligible, Wilson wrote in his ruling.

Kennedy said in an email to the Review-Journal that multiple state notices about running for office were outdated and did not reflect the new requirement that the candidate must be a member of the State Bar.

“My application for the office for Attorney General of Nevada was filed in good faith,” Kennedy said in the email.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on Twitter.